Improvement in railroad-chairs



Nirnn States IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-CHAIRS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. d2,f1:0, dated April 26, 1864.

'o aZZ whom it may concern.- i

Bc it known that I, WELLS HENDERsHoTT, of the town of Batavia, inthe county of Genesee and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Self-Adjusting' Rail Chair and Coupling for Railroads; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full andexact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in making a rail chair and coupling for the ends or joints of rails on railroads, which willpreserve an even running-surface for trains of cars, will allow the expansion andcontraction of the rails by heat and cold, will grasp and hold the rails fast withoutbolts by the press# ure of the weight of passing trains of ears, and partially release them from said grasp as soon as the'weight is removed, thereby lessening the force of any blows of passing trains upon the ends of the rails.

'Io enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to dcscribe its construction and operation.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an end sectional v-iew of the chair and coupling with the ends of two rails without any weight thereon. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 3 represents a supporter placed in the middle of the rail and bolted thereto, and Fig. 4 is an end sectional view of the chair and rail when the weight of passing trains is resting thereon.

I make an open box, with the sides and ends about one halt' inch higher than the bottom, of cast orwrought iron, about one-half of an inch thick, about one foot long, and -from six to eight inches wide. t The bottomon its upper surface, inclines from the sides, toward the center, so that the center is only about one-halt of the thickness of the sides, .and about in the center of thev bottom is an opening, which may be about one inch square, or it may be made much larger. This box is distinguished on thedrawings by the letters .a a, the inclined planes by the letters b b, and the opening by the letter c. Inside of this box, and fitting therein, I' place a chair and coupling, in which rest the ends of the rails, is made in two parts, of cast or wrought iron, and under the rail, in the center thereof, is connected by means ot' a hinge, as shown at y, and these l.two parts are designated by the Ahinge each way the bottom of the inside of the chair descends and forms two inclinedv planes, so that when the pressure of a train of cars rests upon the rails the hinged part is pressed down and thel projections open slightly, andthe bottom of the chair 'rests partly upon the two inclined planes in the bottom of the box, and the bottoni of the rail rests partly uponthe two inclined planes on the inside of the chair, forminga strong support, and the sides of the chair pressagainst' and support the rails. When the weight of passing trains is removed, the grip or grasp upon the rails is relaxed, and there isnot such a confinement as to prevent expansion and contraction. The chair is also supported by the flanges on the sides of the box, as shown at h h. The rails are made alike, both at the top and bottom, and may be turned when one side is worn pr injured 5 but my invention is equally adapted for any kind of rail. The two planesl on the inside of the chair are designated by letters j' f, and the two planes upon the bottom of the box are designated by the letters b b.

.By my arrangement it is apparent that thev chair andra-il are securely held either` without the pressure of passing trains or with it, and that attain passing over the rails will receive amuch less shock than when theV rails and chairs are firmly bolted, 4as there is a little give as thetrains pass over each chair. As an additional security for holding tlie rails, Iattach .at about the middle of each rail a supporter, Fig. 3, which is bolted to the rail and will allow it to expand and contract either way. This supporterl is a narrow chair abouttwo inches wide, fitted and bolted to the rail, and also bolted tothe cross-tie, and has similar projections through the shoe to those upon the large chair; but I do not claim bolting this supporter to the rail.

Having thus described my invention and its construction, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. Making a rail chair and coupling for'railroads, connected by a hinge or hinges nt the bottom with the inclined planes b b nndff, so that the pressure and weight of the cnrs Will firmly hold the rails, und whenvthe Weight is removed the hold will be relaxed andallow the rails to expand and contract, for the purposes-described, and in the manner as substanticlly set forth.

2. The inclined planes, in combination with the hinge, for the purposes described, and as set forth. 3. The hinge connecting the two part-s of the chair and coupling, for the purposes described, and substantially as set forth.

4. The inclined planes, for the purposes described, and as set forth.

5. In combination with said ruilchair and vbot 6. In combination. 'with said rail chair and.

couplin g, a rail that 4may be turnedover, with the top and bottom sides alike.

coupling, the supporter for the middle of the rail, constructed in Athe manner and for the purposes described. l

-7. The projections-d d, extending below the. chair into the opening c in the lbottoni of the box, upon which Jthe chair rests, for` the puf- `poses described, land substantallyas 4set; forth.

8. The box a a, inv which the choir or-coup ling is placed-,for the purposesdescrbed, and. substantially es set forth..

p WELLS HENDERSHOTT.

Witnesses:

W. L. MALLonY, H. U. Sornu. 

